Placket-fastener for ladies&#39; skirts.



Nn. 7|2,2ao. Patented not. 2a, |902.-

J. P. FAMuus. A PLAGKET FASTENERl FOR LADIES SKIBTS. l

(Application' mea- :cy 5, 1901-.)

(No Mdel.)

TME Nmmls PETERS C0Y Fumo-uwe. wAsHlrloToN. D. c.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES P. FAMOUS, OF NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

PLACKET-FASTENER FOR LADIES SKIR'l'S.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 712,280, dated October 278, 1902,

I Application iled December 5, 19.01. Serial No. 84,814. (No model.)

T a/ZZ whom, it may concern.'

Beit known that vI, JAMEs"P.1-FAM0US, a citizen of the United-States, and a resident of Norristown, Penns'y1vania,have invented certain Improvements in Placket-Easteners for Ladies Skirts, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to so construct a fastener for the plackets of ladies dresses that the same will prevent the opening of said placket without detracting from the flexibility of that part of the skirt to which it is applied, a further object being to so con' nect at the bottom the stays which form elements of the fastener that said connection will serve as a gussetv or stay for the lower portion of the placket and will tend to prevent the tearing of this portion of the skirt by reason of the strain to which it is subjected or by the pressure of the lower ends of the stays upon the fabric. These objects I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view of the inside of the rear portion of a ladys skirt, illustrating my improved placket-fastener, the Y placket being shown open. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the placket closed, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line d a, Fig. 2.

l represents part of, the rear portion ofthe skirt of a ladys dress, 2 part of the waistband of the same, and 3 and 4t the material'at'the opposite sides of the placket, usually formed at the rear of the skirt, these portions of the placket in the present instance'being constructed to overlap and the overlapping portions of the waistband being secured to each other by means of hooks 5 and eyes 6 or other suitable forms of fastener in the usual way.

The gaping open of the placket is a source of much annoyance, and attempts have been heretofore made to prevent this by providing the overlapping portions of the placket with stays extendingfrom topf to bottom of the placket and also overlapping each other, these stays being provided with fastening devices at differentpoints throughout their length. The objection to such stays as usually made is their bulky appearance, due to the fact that they overlap each other, and the lack of elasticity arising from such bulk, the consequence being. that :the edges of the placket are comparatively stiff and unyielding, while the fact that the stays are at the extreme edges of the placket causes them to be lreadily exposed and constitutes an additional objection to their use." In carrying out my invention, therefore, I so dispose the stays that they can be brought together edge to edge instead of overlapping, so that the skirt is stiffened only to the extent of the thickness of a single stay, which can be so light and flexible as not to interfere to any material extent with the ilexibilityT of the skirt at the point where the placket is formed, this construction, moreover, necessitating the setting of the stays some distance inwardly from the edge of the overlapping portion of the placket, so that there is no liability of exposure of the fastener.'

In the drawings, 7 represents the stay which is secured to the underlapping portion 3 of the placket, and 9 the stay which is secured to the overlapping portion 4C of the same, the latter stay being, as shown in Fig.

1, some distance inward-from the edge of the placket for the reason before stated. Each of thev stays consists of a strip of elastic sheet metal, whalebone, celluloid, or other available material covered, by preference, with some textile fabric and secured to the material of the skirt or skirt-lining by sewing, as indicated iu the drawings, or by hooks, pins, eyelets, or other available methods of fastening, one of the `stays being provided with hooks 10 and the other with eyes ll or with other fastening devices, whereby the stays can be retained in their proper relative positions vwhen brought together edge to edge.

While it is not essential that the stays shall be connectedk together at the bottom of the placket, I prefer to' connect them at this point by means of a flexible hinge consisting of a piece 12 of leather, textile fabric, or other iiexible material with a central slit 13, this iiexible hinge being secured to the material of the skirt or skirt-lining by meansof stitches or other available fastenings, sothat it will serve not only as a means of iexibly connecting the stays at the lower ends, but also as a gusset or stay for thelower end of the placket, thereby preventing the tearing of the-skirt at this point, which sometimes results when the ICO strain upon it is excessive, and also preventing the tearing or injuring of the fabric of the skirt by reason of the pressure of the lower ends of the stays upon it.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A placket-fastener consisting of flexible stays to be secured to the opposite sides of the placket, said stays being provided with fastening devices whereby they can be secured together edge to edge without overlapping and being connected at their lower ends by a hinge consisting of a piece of flexible material slitted to form wings for connection to the stays and having a portion below said wings for attachment to the skirt, substantially as described.

JAMES P. FAMOUS.

Witnesses:

JOHN M. DETTRA, LILLIAN M. NoBLI'r. 

